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Volume 106: Risks Associated with Single-Award Contracts; USACE NSA-U

Author

Kit Conway
December 18, 2025

In This Week's Newsletter:

Opportunity Alert – USACE NSA-U

Contact Katie: [email protected]

Opportunity Alert – Department of the Army, Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Design Build Construction, National Security Agency-Utah (NSA-U) Consolidation Mission Facility.

On December 16, 2025, the Contracting Office released a Special Notice to inform industry of a scheduled Virtual Industry Day on January 14, 2026, at 9:00 AM PT. Registrations are due no later than January 8, 2026, at 11:00 AM PT. The USACE requires design and construction of an administrative facility, an unclassified commons facility, a parking structure, and a vehicle control point (VCP)/vehicle cargo inspection facility (VCIF). This $500M opportunity is due for release in April 2026, with an estimated award date of March 2027. The competition type is currently unknown. Reach out to Hinz Consulting for any Capture, Graphics, Price-to-Win, or Proposal support, and continue to monitor SAM.gov for any updates in the procurement timeline.

Four to Follow

  1. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Power Systems Design and Install Services II (PSDI). On December 15, 2025, the Contracting Office released a draft RFP for the replacement, modification, and support of new and existing power systems at FAA facilities. Questions or comments on the draft RFP are due by 5:00 PM CT on January 23, 2026. This $630M Partial Small Business Set-Aside IDIQ is expected to be released in March 2026, with an anticipated award in December 2026. Continue to monitor SAM.gov for any changes to the procurement timeline.

  2. Department of War (DOW), Defense Media Activity (DMA), Public Website Program and Services. From January 12-15, 2026, DMA plans to hold an in-person Industry Week to discuss this and other upcoming DOW opportunities. Registration must be completed by 5:00 PM EST on December 22, 2025. This opportunity requires a turnkey web application solution encompassing design, content management, and applications for the DOW Public Website. The competition type and award value are currently unknown. The final RFP is scheduled for release in March 2026, with a projected award date of September 2026. Continue to monitor SAM.gov for more information.

  3. U.S. Space Force (USSF), Space Systems Command (SSC), Combat Mission System Support (CMSS). SSC requires a contractor to serve as a Product Support Integrator, overseeing end-to-end lifecycle support for SY systems and coordinating sustainment support through industry and organic partnerships. This $640M Full and Open/Unrestricted opportunity is scheduled for release in January 2026, with an expected award in May 2026. Continue to monitor SAM.gov for updates on this effort.

  4. Department of the Army, Army Materiel Command, Communications Electronics Command (CECOM) Worldwide Field Support. On December 15, 2025, the Contracting Office issued a Special Notice to inform industry of its plan to consolidate all previous SAM.gov notices into a single posting. CECOM needs to acquire a range of mission-critical logistics, sustainment, and maintenance services for current and future C5ISR systems, equipment, and operational support to assist the Joint Warfighter, U.S. coalition forces worldwide, and other government agencies within the Army Field Support Brigade (AFSB) regions and Areas of Operation (AORs). The timeline for this $518M opportunity remains undecided, but the final RFP is expected in January 2026, with a projected award in June 2026. Continue to monitor SAM.gov for further information. 

Federal Civilian Acquisition Reforms — Part 2

Contact Nick: [email protected]

Last week in Part 1, we explored the first two major reform areas in the Federal Civilian acquisition overhaul: the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul and Threshold Adjustments (RFO). This week in Part 2, we will examine two additional structural changes, their real-world effects, and practical guidance for federal contractors seeking growth in 2026 and beyond.

GSA-Led GWAC and IT Consolidation:

Executive Order 14240 (March 20, 2025) designated GSA as the executive agent for common IT and commodity procurements, mandating agency consolidation plans by April 19 (all plans were submitted on time). This phase-out of redundant agency-specific indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contracts in favor of government-wide vehicles is underway. GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) underwent a refresh in August 2025, incorporating RFO deviations to provide simpler terms and broader small-business participation. OASIS+, a flagship GWAC for professional services, began awarding contracts in September 2024, with rolling additions (e.g., 118 contracts in October 2025); its Phase II expansion on December 4, 2025, introduced five new domains, including healthcare delivery and logistics.

Agency vehicles, such as the VA’s Transformation Twenty-One Total Technology Next Generation (T4NG), continue to operate but are deprioritized under OMB directives. Agencies are encouraged to migrate their needs to GSA platforms to improve cost efficiency and reduce duplication.

Impact: This reduces reliance on agency-specific IDIQs, enabling government and industry to focus more on GSA’s “Best In Class” contracts, such as OASIS+ and Alliant. HHS exemplifies this by shifting to OASIS+ in late 2025 for a $150 million IT modernization task order, consolidating prior work under agency-specific IDIQs into a single streamlined vehicle. This appears to be an early indicator that HHS is adhering to EO 14240’s consolidation mandate, favoring GSA vehicles over its own legacy options, such as CIO-SP3 (which, while extended through April 2026 due to successor protests, is being deprioritized under OMB guidance to route everyday IT needs through GSA for efficiency).

Hinz Advice: If you’re not on at least one GSA “Best in Class” GWAC, such as OASIS+, monitor on-ramp windows and assess your ability to on-ramp to the contract. Additionally, forming strategic teaming arrangements with established GSA schedule holders and using joint stakeholder engagements to influence task order requirements is a strong approach if you’re unable to hold a Prime seat on the vehicle. Read your customer’s consolidation plan; ensure capture managers understand it, as it will have significant implications for your organization's ability to pursue an opportunity of interest.

Innovation and Workforce Mandates:

OFPP’s December 2024 memo required civilian agencies to designate chief acquisition innovation advocates, deliver 2025-2026 agile procurement plans by June 2025 (both met), and update the Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) to reflect digital-era skills. Best-in-class designations are now required for categories such as cloud computing and software, and OFPP’s Circular A-137 promotes the sharing of acquisition data to support informed decisions.

Impact: Empowers contracting officers with tools for data-driven, rapid prototyping—e.g., the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) accelerated a zero-trust architecture pilot in Q3 2025 using BIC cloud vehicles, integrating shared analytics from multiple agencies to deploy safeguards 25% faster than under prior siloed processes.

Contractor Tips: Embed agency innovation advocates into your call plans early to co-develop requirements, ensuring proposals reflect agile, iterative approaches that align with best-in-class criteria. Use performance-based metrics (e.g., uptime SLAs versus line-item deliverables) in bids to underscore long-term value and differentiate from cost-focused competitors.

The Federal Civilian market is quietly becoming a faster, more predictable hunting ground. A lighter FAR, higher simplified thresholds, the push toward GSA-centric vehicles, and relentless pressure to buy commercial are removing decades of friction and duplication. The contractors who succeed won’t be the ones with the best compliance checklists or the most agency-specific IDIQs; they’ll be the ones who hold the right GSA contracts, shape requirements early, and deliver outcomes rather than paperwork.

Risks Associated with Single-Award Contracts (Sole Source)

Contact Dr. Tom: [email protected]

A single-award contract, also known as a sole-source acquisition, bypasses the standard competitive bidding process. While sometimes necessary (e.g., due to unique capabilities or an urgent need), it carries significant risks for both the government client, and the company awarded the contract.

Government Client Risks

  • Higher Costs: Without competition, the government loses the pressure that drives down prices. The awarded price is more likely to be higher than a competitively negotiated one, potentially leading to inefficient use of taxpayer funds.

  • Reduced Innovation/Quality: Competition fosters innovation. By selecting only one source, the government might miss out on superior, more efficient, or cheaper solutions offered by other companies.

  • Increased Scrutiny & Protest: Sole-source decisions are highly scrutinized by oversight bodies and the public. They are also more vulnerable to formal protests from excluded competitors, which can lead to significant project delays and legal costs.

  • Vendor Lock-In: The government becomes dependent on a single vendor, making it difficult and expensive to switch later, even if performance is substandard or costs rise.

Company Risks

  • Public and Regulatory Scrutiny: The company faces potential allegations of favoritism, improper influence, or unfair advantage, which can damage its reputation and trigger audits or investigations.

  • Performance Pressure: The company bears sole responsibility for the project’s performance. If it fails, the government has no immediate alternative, intensifying pressure and potential contractual penalties.

  • Price Justification Burden: The company must often provide extensive documentation to the government to justify that the price is "fair and reasonable," a process that can be resource-intensive and complex, even without the pressure of competition.

The bottom line is that companies need to remember that even with a sole-source award, there will always be a justification requirement. Hinz would encourage a mini Price-To-Win analysis to see what the “others” are doing, pricing-wise. Your pricing support will always be prepared to price and justify any and all costs.

Fun Presidential Facts

In the run up to the holidays, we thought we would share 'Interesting' Presidential facts... but there's one or two that probably aren't true...  

  • Andrew Jackson’s parrot had to be removed from his funeral for swearing.

  • President Calvin Coolidge had a pet raccoon, originally sent to be eaten for Thanksgiving but he adopted it instead.

  • Zachary Taylor never voted in a presidential election before becoming president.

  • Jimmy Carter filed a UFO sighting report before becoming president.

  • George H. W. Bush threw up on the Japanese prime minister during a state dinner in 1992.

  • Richard Nixon talked to portraits of past presidents when stressed.

  • John Quincy Adams regularly went skinny-dipping in the Potomac River while president.

  • William Howard Taft got stuck in his White House bathtub… so they bought a bigger one.

  • Lyndon B. Johnson held meetings in the bathroom, continuing conversations while showering or using the toilet.

  • Martin Van Buren had two tiger cubs, then Congress evoked the emoluments clause and forced him to send to a zoo.

  • Gerald Ford is the only person in U.S. history to serve as both vice president and president without being elected to either office.

  • Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died on July 4, 1826, exactly 50 years after the Declaration of Independence.

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